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Transcript/ScriptBIDEN MIDDLE EAST TV))
HEADLINE: Biden’s Mideast Trip Includes Direct Israel-Saudi Arabia Flight
TEASER: The U.S. president will seek broader engagement with Riyadh despite calling the kingdom a "pariah" while running for office
PUBLISHED: 06/14/2022, 7:2
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTOR: Anita Powell
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Bowman, Reifenrath, DJ (ok)
CONTRIBUTOR:
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:29
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TV
EDITOR NOTES: Radio track included.
((INTRO: ))
Joe Biden plans to visit the Middle East for the first time as U.S. president in July, with stops in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia. It will be the first time an American president flies directly from Israel to an Arab state that does not recognize the country. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
((Family photo SOA, AFP V000_32CA83Q))
((NARRATOR)
Fresh off his summit with Western Hemisphere leaders, U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing for two foreign trips in the next month.
((Wide shot G7 family photo, AFP V000_9C486U, Wide shot NATO family photo V000_9BY97L))
((NARRATOR))
The G-7 summit in Germany and a NATO meeting in Spain at the end of June,
((Biden getting off M1, AFP V000_32CB9WZ))
((NARRATOR))
followed by a mid-July visit to Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia, where he will participate in a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
((https://app.frame.io/projects/107d8a33-963a-48f0-9001-585725df7d34/0e8f8275-b5cd-4768-9283-d5722f5e106a ))
((President Joe Biden))
“That's the reason I'm going. And it has to do with national security for them — for Israelis. I have a program — anyway. It has to do with much larger issues than having to do with the energy piece.”
((Trump and Salman, Trump sword dance TC 0:57, sword dance, AFP V000_VID1031686_EN))
((NARRATOR))
U.S.-Saudi ties were especially close during the Trump administration but have cooled under Biden, who called the kingdom a "pariah" while he was running for office.
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((NARRATOR))
Ties were further strained after the 2018 slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence determined had been approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
((Various gas prices, AFP V000_324F3C6, Various Aramco facilities, AFP V000_32A62XG))
((NARRATOR))
But with soaring gas prices driving inflation, Biden has opted to engage the Saudis, who play an outsized role in global energy markets — and in the broader Middle East.
((Radio track: said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, via Zoom))
((https://app.frame.io/player/a110761e-6b24-469b-acd9-b7ae38d93976 TC 13:02))
((Jon Alterman, CSIS)) ((Zoom))
“It is partly about Yemen. And it is partly about Iran. It's partly about normalization with Israel. And it's partly about energy production. It is partly about green energy and the energy transition and their Saudi role in that. And it's partly about economic development, economic partnerships. And it's partly about the rising role of women in Saudi Arabia.”
((Biden getting off AF1, AFP V000_32C66KA))
((NARRATOR))
Biden will fly directly from Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — a first for a U.S. president,
((Trump in Israel in front of AF1, AFP V000_VID1032061_EN))
((NARRATOR))
following Trump’s 2017 historic flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv. Israel has no formal ties with Saudi Arabia.
((Abraham Accords signing, AFP V000_8Q23E9))
((NARRATOR))
Washington has been engaged in quiet diplomacy to expand the Abraham Accords, a Trump administration agreement for Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.
((https://app.frame.io/player/a453d210-423d-47ef-a124-c3a91fd83d6d TC 3:28))
((Radio track: Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, via Skype))
((Brian Katulis, Middle East Institute)) ((Skype))
“I would temper the expectations that there would be a major breakthrough at this point, just because what I hear from Saudis is some deep reservations about the lack of progress on the Palestinian front, as well as the ongoing instability in places like Jerusalem.”
((Jerusalem clashes, AFP V045_328D2PW))
((NARRATOR))
For the Saudis, normalization with Israel would require major progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But with little headway to point to and ongoing clashes,
((Journalist funeral clashes, AFP V000_32A283R))
((NARRATOR))
including the recent spat following allegations that Israeli forces killed a Palestinian-American journalist, peace prospects remain dim.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateJune 14, 2022 20:16 EDT
BylinePatsy Widakuswara, VOA News.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
